Monday, March 22, 2010

Delicios Tease Contest #37: Nikki Duncan

Today my friend Nikki Duncan is going to be talking about her first book, Sounds to Die By. I picked it up on the very first day and have to tell you I loved, loved, loved it. I really like characters who are just a little unusual and Nikki definitely creates two that fit the bill in this book. Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Sounds to Die By.

Blurb:

Rookie FBI Agent Kieralyn Beckett is in a delicate position. Her team refuses to buy into her theory that a string of kidnappings is connected. If she pushes too hard, they’ll discover the latest victim was her college roommate and boot her off the case. A garbled recording is the only evidence, and there’s only one man who can decipher it. The hard part will be convincing him to take the case.Blinded as a child, NSA “listener” Ian Cabrera spends the majority of his time analyzing data while secretly searching for his father, a missing CIA operative. His plate is full, but Kieralyn’s passion and determination, as well as the erotic beat of her heart, spark his interest. So does the mention of his father’s code name on her recording.

There’s only one way to follow this new crumb-trail of clues without tipping her off about what he’s really after. Convince her she needs him to be her undercover partner, despite his handicap. Between her eyes and his ears, they make one beautifully orchestrated team. Every time they touch, though, the arousal they generate creates one red-hot element of distraction…

Excerpt“I’m not stepping away from this.” She struggled against him. He held firm.“I didn’t suggest that.” He kissed her forehead. “But you need to release some of the energy building inside of you.” He kissed the corner of her mouth. “One way or another, you have to allow yourself to escape all thoughts of the case.” He kissed the other corner of her mouth. “Or you’ll burn out.”“I’ll escape after I save the women.” She softened against him—marginally.“No.” He slid his mouth over hers. “As much as rescuing those women—Lana—means to you, as important as it is to stop the injustices they and other women may suffer, you have to realize that you can’t do it all alone. And you can’t do it without knowing who has them and where they’re being held.”Like she had outside the club, Kieralyn melted against his body. Her hands rested at his waist with her fingers brushing against his shirt, sliding the material against his skin.“You believe that I’m right about the connection? That the club we were at, the owner, is connected to it all somehow?”“Yes.” He walked her backwards, deeper into the kitchen. “But there are still too many unanswered questions.”She arched her neck. A tiny moan escaped her lips. “Like what?”He nibbled the cord of her neck and maneuvered her around the table. “Like what you taste like.”“You’ve already kissed me.”“Not enough. Not everywhere.” He slid his hands up her back and buried them in her heavy hair. “Are you going to let me make love to you, Kieralyn?”“Ian, the case—”“Isn’t going anywhere.” Her heart slammed beneath her soft breasts pressed against his chest. “I, on the other hand, may go mad if you say no.”“No pressure.”“Oh, there’s a lot of pressure.” He rolled his hips so she could feel his arousal. “It started building when I heard your voice in my lab this morning.”“Aah.”“The breathy way you pleaded your case teased me.” He fisted his hands in her hair and pulled her head back some more. “Then I caught your scent. Soft lilacs that became more erotic with every beat of your heart.”“You’re a confusing man, Ian Cabrera.” Her ragged breath rushed over his neck. She bunched the fabric of his shirt in her hands. “I don’t know how to handle you.”The image of them outside the club earlier—when she’d slipped her fingers into the waist of his pants—popped into his head. It would be easy for her to slip the button free, ease the zipper down, and slide her hand down and around him. His dick throbbed.“There’s nothing confusing about desire.”

Comment here to win a digital copy of SOUNDS TO DIE BY or signed copy of the print book as soon as it’s available.